


Life is but a Dream

by JoAsakura



Category: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-25
Updated: 2010-01-25
Packaged: 2017-10-06 16:43:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoAsakura/pseuds/JoAsakura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>one from the vaults, circa 2003.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life is but a Dream

~~~~Ulei River~~~~

The Ulei River was a ribbon of crystal blue, the waters still chill from the snows of Lutia Pass. Given the baking heat of the sun in the cloudless sky overhead, though, no one was in the mood to complain about it.

They were sitting on the riverside, relaxing after routing another clan's attempt to turf them, just a typical day. Anry, who had found religion several months ago and dedicated his sword to the forces of Order, was being bossy, divvying up the spoils gained from the other clan. The viera sisters, Lune and Eldana, were as usual, ignoring him. Pedro, the elderly nu mou, tottered around with his apprentice white mage in tow and patched up the wounds, stopping to mightily scold Bellini, a lizard-like bangaa knight, for letting himself get jumped by a moogle.

Basil wiggled his toes in the cold water, watching their nominal leaders, Marche and Montblanc, talk quietly on the nearby dock. His hearing wasn't as good as a viera's, but Basil could still catch part of the conversation. He sighed and kicked at the water. He was focused enough to be completely startled when Messara dropped heavily to the riverbank beside him.

"Ah, another victim falls to my mad ninja skills." Messara laughed, lying back on the bank to squint up at the sky. When Basil didn't join in the joke, he rolled over and looked up a the dark-eyed hunter. "Hey. What's the matter? We kicked Shalo ass today, right?"

"Messara..." Basil looked down at other man with a grim face. "I've been listening in to Marche and his moogleship." He chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment, as Messara hauled himself to a sitting position to look over at the two on the dock.

"Yeah?" Messara sounded a little distracted, intently watching the dock for several moments. Basil realized he was reading their lips. Another "mad ninja skill".

"You know those crystals? And the totema? I heard Marche saying that this is just a dream world. That this isn't a real world." He lifted a foot out of the river, watching the water bead on his skin. "How could that be? How can this not be real?"

Messara chewed on the end of his ponytail for a moment, then turned a level blue gaze on the hunter. "I've heard the nu mou believe that the universe is just a dream of god's."

"He makes it sound as if the world is a dream of the Prince." Basil lay back on the reedy ground with a sigh. "How can that be? We're way older than Marche or the Prince... I grew up in a shack village in Salikawood... we used to trek to Cyril once a month to trade my dad's monster catches for supplies. I have a a little brother and sister and a scar on my left arm from where a viera sniper got me with a poisoned arrow. I have a whole lifetime of experiences... how can I be someone's dream?" He made a miserable sound.

Messara looked away, watching the others chat and relax, before reaching over with blinding speed and tweaking the hunter painfully on the nose.

"OW! Ramuh's electric ass, Mess, what was THAT for?" He rubbed his nose with one hand, thwapping the ninja with his other.

"Maybe we are the Prince's dream. Or god's dream. Or whatever." He said blandly, lying down to lean on one elbow. "But our pain and our happiness is real enough, don't you think? You worry too much."

Basil looked at him hard, reaching up to tug on the ninja's sun-bleached ponytail. "I don't want to disappear. I don't want to just vanish if whoever's dreaming us wakes up. There's so much I want to... say. do... see.." He let his hand drop, looking away. "I don't want to stop."

"Baz." Messara's eyes were soft. A look that very few had ever seen. "All we can do is keep going until we can't go any further. " There was a soft rustle of fabric as he reached over to wipe away something damp in the corner of the hunter's eye. "Trust me. I think we've got alot further to go, still." He was quiet for a long moment. "Alot further."

~~~~~~~Cadoan~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I hate this town." Basil muttered, restringing his bow while the boy and the moogle busily negotiated missions with the pubmaster. "I don't know what that spice is the nu mou put in everything, but I hate the taste. I hate the fact that there's no meat to be had in any of the restaurants. " He kept glancing at the ninja across the table, who was busily working his way through a sampling of local brew.

"I think there's a tribe of pubmasters." Messara muttered, staring over the edge of his beer mug and waving one hand in the air. "And they all inbreed, producing a race of crazy old coots who all look alike."

"You humanssss all look alike anywayssss." Bellini rumbled, prodding at his tofu stew. "whatsss one more crazssy pub-owner?"He sat back in disgust, fork clattering on the table. "I have to agree with Basss, though. Thisss isss not fit fare for a bangaa."

"Basil's just upset because of how wise and clever the nu mou are. Even the moulings. Much cleverer than he is." Sonja sipped her tea. The young viera was Pedro's white magery apprentice, and suffered from what Eldana referred to as "numouphilia" and what Montblanc referred to as "being a fan-kupo". "And I think that cleverness is Soooooo attractive."

There was a loud snapping twang as the bowstring snapped, the line flicking a sharp red slash across Basil's cheek. He stood up sharply, chair clattering behind him. "Screw this. I'm going to bed."

Sonja blinked, her long ears twitching. "Oh, should I heal that for you, Basil?" she chirped at the hunter's fast-retreating back. "he's so sensitive latel..OW!" She rubbed her head where Eldana had smacked her, and sulked.

Messara watched him for a moment then sighed, pushing away from the table to follow.

Bellini waited until the ninja had gone into the staircase and prodded his stew once more. "Isss unhealthy, that." He muttered, before pushing his stew towards Lune and Eldana. The viera had no problems with the nu mou's vegetarian cuisine. "Bangaa hatch, born knowing mating dansssse. Practisssse lotsss." He made a hair-raising sound that passed for laughter. "Humanssss fumble around like drunken malboro. Amazssssing they're able to get anything done."

 

Upstairs, Basil threw his bow down on the bed, flopping next to it in the room he was sharing with Anry and Messara. The paladin's bed was made tight enough to bounce a gil off of, and Messara's by contrast, was a disaster. Basil had come to the conclusion Messara did it solely to irritate Anry.

"Let me take a look at your cheek." Messara's quiet voice made Basil jump. "You're bleeding." He sat down on the edge of the bed, fishing a potion out of his belt.

"It's ok. It's nothing." Basil inched away, not looking him in the eye.

"You've been awfully amped up the last week." Messara dripped potion on his sleeve and dabbed the soft cloth against Basil's cheek. "You still worrying about being someone's dream?"

"No. Yes. " Basil sighed, feeling the itchy tingle of healing spread across his cheek. "Mess. I..." Dark eyes scanned Messara's face, the ninja looking back curiously. "I don't want to disappear without..." He clamped his mouth shut, feeling a heat on his face that had nothing to do with the potion.

"What?" Messara quirked an eyebrow, taking Basil's bow and setting it against the nightstand.

"Nothing. It's nothing." Basil turned on his side quickly, looking fixedly at the window overlooking the town. He was surprised when he felt the bed shift, Messara's arms sliding around him. "Mess..?"

"You're such a dope." The words were a warm breath on the back of his neck. "why couldn't you just say it?"

"I'm not so good when the target's so close." The hunter made a weak laugh, turning slowly in the embrace. "Messara..."

"I told you. We've got alot further to go still." He brushed back Basil's unruly dark hair, before pulling the hunter on top of him. "And you're not going to just disappear. I promise. I believe that we're real.. at least real enough." Messara cupped the back of Basil's head, drawing him down close, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I promise."

"I... I like you. I.. didn't want to disappear without telling you..." Basil shifted, settling against Messara. "I wanted you to know.."

"I know. I knew... guessed at least." He stroked Basil's dark hair slowly with a little laugh. "I remember when we hooked up with the clan - it was right around the same time and you looked like you just came out of the woods. Thought you were the cutest thing I'd ever seen."

Basil pulled himself up a little too look at Messara. "You scared the crap out of me." He grinned a little. "You grew up in a jagd, didn't you?"

Messara nodded, tugging the hunter back down. "Yeah. Grew up stealing as a living there. Getting out of that hellhole was the best thing I ever did. You were so serious all the time when you joined. But I noticed the looks." He grinned, fingers undoing the laces on Basil's tunic as he talked. "Figured you'd get around to it eventually. Didn't realize how long eventually was going to be.."

"Guess Sonja was right. I'm not very clever." Basil sat back on Messara's thighs, sliding off his tunic. He absently rubbed the ugly scar on his left arm. "But I'm real... real enough."

Messara propped himself up on an elbow reaching up to tug the hunter into a long joining of mouth and tongue. "I can't wait to see just how real." He murmured against Basil's lips. "Because I'm pretty sure I dreamed this once..."

"For a ninja, you talk an awful lot." Basil let himself be pulled down. "Maybe the law for this engagement should be 'talking forbidden'."

"Maybe. I got some great ideas for recommended action." Messara grinned at him. "A little trick I know with rods.." His fingers slid down Basil's stomach.

"that's a terrible pun. yellow card."

"trust me. It gets better."

"I believe you."


End file.
